STROKE

EVALUATION OF RISK FACTORS, CLINICAL MANIFESTATIONS, AND DIAGNOSTIC OUTCOME

Abstract

Objective: To determine the risk factors, clinical manifestations, and diagnostic
outcome of stroke among patients admitted in CMH Jhelum. Study design: Descriptive case
series. Place and duration of study: Medicine Department Combined Military Hospital Jhelum
Cantonment from January 2013 to February 2014. Material and methods: A sample size of 200
was obtained with an equal number of male and female patients. After formal consent a detailed
history was taken regarding hypertension, diabetes mellitus, smoking, and Performa was filled.
Investigations like Fasting blood sugar, serum cholesterol, and CT scan brain were also done,
other relevant data like name, age, gender, and address, were collected. Patient admitted
with clinical presentation of stroke later being diagnosed on CT scan brain as ischemic or
hemorrhagic were included. Stroke secondary to vascular lesions, space occupying lesions, and
blood dyscrasias were excluded from study because these cases would act as effect modifier
and interfere with results, thus producing bias in this study. Results: A total number of 200
patients were included in this study with an equal ratio of male and female. Range of age group
was 40 to 80 years while mean age group involved was 70.01 ± 13.02 years old. Most common
clinical manifestations were weakness of right half of the body that is 51.5%, weakness left
half 25%, and coma 13.5%. Hypertension found to be leading risk factor of stroke with 58.5%,
while diabetes found in 24.5%, smoking 8%, obesity 5%, and high cholesterol in 4% of patients.
Diagnostic outcome was ischemic stroke in most of the patients (71%) and hemorrhagic stroke
in 29%. Conclusion: Modifiable risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes, smoking, obesity
and high cholesterol are found to the key risk factors. These can be easily controlled by life style
modification and effective medication therapy resulting a significant reduction the morbidity and
mortality of stroke.